I've become quite fond of writing cozy Cthulhu stories. In them, you'll find many concepts borrowed from the world created by the horror writer H.P. Lovecraft. Arcane tomes, chief among them the Necronomicon, abound. The outer gods—primarily Azathoth, Nyarlathotep, Cthulhu, and Yidhra—occasionally drop in. The fantasy realm of the Dreamlands, with its weird and fantastical creatures like nightgaunts, zoogs, shantaks, and ghasts, is not as removed from the real world as you might think.
In my stories, you won't find the pervasive sense of impending horrific doom that Lovecraft excels at. Instead, the emphasis is on found family. The stories are optimistic, and not all creatures are hostile. Some could be considered downright cuddly. Whimsy isn't associated with Lovecraft, but it's embraced in cozy Cthulhu.
I first traveled to the land of cozy Cthulhu in Arkham Files. This meta spin-off series is tightly interwoven with Caffrey Conversation. Diana Berrigan created the tales to help catch a cybercriminal. Mozzie dubbed the unknown mastermind Azathoth because the criminal used several references to Lovecraft's stories. Arkham Files was designed to make Azathoth feel sympathetic to the targets of his manipulation—Neal Caffrey and Peter Burke. Aiding Diana in writing the stories is the Arkham Round Table, a committee formed of June, Mozzie, Elizabeth Burke, and others.
My second cozy Cthulhu series is Ghostnet. I wrote the first story, Unintended Consequences, for a Wattpad Halloween contest in 2022. I was nervous about how others would react to cozy Cthulhu, and was absolutely floored when Unintended Consequences was declared the contest winner. The cast was so excited that they insisted I continue to chronicle their adventures. Today I posted the first five stories in one collection on AO3 and FanFiction. A sequel is in the works. I plan to post Yidhra's Web sometime next summer.
If the idea of cozy Cthulhu appeals to you, I hope you'll give the stories a try!
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